Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1836-1922 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities external link and the Library of Congress. Learn more

Download & Play

Questions

Newspaper Page Text

-.--. X -n ,7111 -"nw i.-niiiiimii i A mii n- W ni i 1 Ji mil MWW Mwn)IIH TT'lHir"r-1i ilTH' i If
V -
'5
I i
F
! !
VOL.XXX VII-NO. 32.
BOLIVAK, TENNESSEE, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1902.
SUBSCRIPTION: $1.00 Per Year
nnip it?
BOLIVAK
TTMT "TTTT r ' l 1 rr n i vr T
A WEEORECORD
All the News of the Past Seven
Days Condensed.
II03LE AND FOREIGN ITEMS
Kews of the Industrial Field, Personal
and Political Items, Happenings
at Home and Abroad.
THE NEWS FROM ALL TILE WORLD
CONGRESSIONAL.
The senate on the 17th ratified the
treaty with Denmark, ceding th Span
ish "West Indies to the United States
upon payment of $3,000,000, and passed
bills establishing a permanent census of
fice and extending charters of national
banks In the house the bill for the
repeal of the war taxes was passed by
a unanimous vote. At a caucus of house
republicans a resolution was adopted
calling for a special committee to investi
gate the disfranchisement of voters in
the south.
The senate further discussed the Phil
ippine tariff bill on the ISth and it was
agreed to take a final vote on the bill
next Monday afternoon In the house,
during a discussion of the Indian appro
priation bill, Mr. Wheeler (Ky.) was
scored by his democratic colleagues for
his attack on Prince Henry and Lord
Pauncefote. In reply Mr. Wheeler said
he had nothing to retract. A bill was
introduced to refund to religious, char
itable, literary and art institutions the
taxes collected on legacies and bequests
under the operation of the war revenue
act.
On the 19th the time in the United States
senate was devoted to considering the Phil
ippine tariff bill, the main speeches being
made by Senators Burrows' (Mich.) for the
blil. and Money (Miss.) against it In the
house the gereral debate on the Indian
appropriation bill was devoted almost en
tirely to extraneous topics. As on the pre
vious day, the issued raised by Mr. Wheel
er (Ky.) a few days ago came in for con
siderable attention and was the feature
of the session.
The senate on the 20th devoted its en
tire session to the Philippine tiuestion..
The house spent the day working on the
Indian appropriation bill and 42 of the 62
pages were disposed of. Mr. Long, of the
ways and means committee, submitted to
the committee a bill providing' for reciproc
ity wiin tuoa.
DOMESTIC.
Lou F. Wright, of Ottawa, Kan., a
member of a minstrel troupe, was
lynched at New Madrid, Mo., as the
result of a quarrel with white men.
A heavy snowfall, accompanied by
high winds, caused a suspension of
traffic in New York and other east
ern cities.
Carrie Chapman Catt, of New York,
has been elected president of the Na
tional Woman's Suffrage association.
Andrew Tapper was hanged at Chas
ka, Minn., for the murder of Rosa Mixa.
The Louisiana supreme court decid
ed that betting on horse racing is not
illegal.
The L'nited States transport Meade
has arrived at San Francisco from Ma
nila with 1,200 soldiers whose terms of
service have expired.
The whisky trust has begun its fight
on independent manufacturers by cut
ting the price three cents.
Two thousand invitations to the
launching of Kaiser Wilhelm's yacht
have been issued by the builders.
John Jordan, with several aliases,
the king of green goods men, has been
arrested by a secret service agent of
the post office department in New
York.
The Daughters of the American Rev
olution in session in Washington elect
ed Mrs. C. II. Deere, of Moline, 111.,
regent.
Two masked robbers raided a gam
bling room at Clinton, la., securing
$1,S00 in money and diamonds from 11
men.
The Atlantic Yacht club of New
York elected Emperor William and
Prince Henry honorary members of
the club.
President Roosevelt sent to congress
a recommendation that Naval Con
structor Richmond P. Hobson, hero of
the Merrimac, be placed on the retired
list.
The state bureau of labor statistics
reports a net gain in wages in Illinois
in four years of 11. 7S per cent.
Chilkat Indians in the state of
Washington have buried alive a
youthful convert to Christianity be
cause he denounced the mummeries
of the tribe.
The name of President McKinley
has been given to the fortifications
on Great Diamond island, Portland
harbor, Maine.
A band of heavily armed Creeks
were captured by a posse near Beggs,
I. T.
Ex-Secretary of the Treasury Lyman
J. Gage is to become president of the
United States Trust company of New
Y'ork, with a salary of $30,000 a year.
The Corn Exchange national and
Merchants' national banks in Chicago
have been consolidated under the
name of the former.
Topeka, Kan., gave saloonkeepers
$1,000 in settlement of damage suits
against the city growing out of Carrie
Nation's raids.
One person was killed and six injured
in a fire that destroyed the Battle
Creek (Mich.) Adventist sanitarium
and hospital. Three hunderd patients
escaped in their night clothes. The
property loss is $450,000.
The exchanges at the leading clear
ing houses in the United States dur
ing the seven days ended on the 14th
aggregated $1,92S,021,G62, against $2,
157,122,942 the previous week. The in
crease compared with Hie correspond
ing week of last year was 1.4.
The navy department is soon to test
petroleum for fuel on ships.
A big combine of transatlantic lines
has been formed, which includes the
Dominion, Leyland, American, White
Star and Atlantic Transport com
panies. Harold M. Cole, a prominent citi
zen, murdered his wife and commit
ted suicide in Helena, Mi nt,
Woman suffragists appeared before
congressional committees and urged
their right to vote.
Fire, followed by an explosion of
gas, wrecked the Tecumseh flats in
Chicago and rendered nearly 100 per
sons homeless.
The Wisconsin supreme court in ef
feet has decided that the state inheri-
ance tax law is unconstitutional.
President Roosevelt announced his
decision in the Schley case. He blamed
the admiral for the retrograde move
ment and the loop, held that neither
Schley nor Sampson was in command
of the fleet at the Santiago battle
which was a captains' fight, and pro
nounced flatly against continuation of
the controversy.
Attorney General Knox, by direction
of President Roosevelt, is preparing a
bill in equity to test the legality of the
Northern Pacific railwaj- merger.
Four firemen were caught under fall
ing walls at a Milwaukee fire, and two
died of their injuries and the others
were badly hurt.
II. F. Brewer, of San Francisco, won
the 000-yard swimming championship
at the Coliseum in Chicago, breaking
the record.
The superintendent of schools at Ko-
komo, Ind., reported that 400 boys out
of 1,300 in the citv schools smoke ciga
rettes.
Secretary Hay notified Russia and
China that any agreement giving anv
corporation exclusive right in the de
velopment of Manchuria would be
viewed by the gravest concern by the
United States.
The National Civic Federation com
mittee considered in New York a plan
for a tribunal to prevent threatened
strikes and lockouts.
The secretary of war has furnished
the senate with a mass of information
disproving charges of crueltv made
against Philippine troops.
The foreign relations committee of
the senate decided that the reciprocity
trade treaties are not dead, but can
stili be acted upon by the senate.
Coon Kinaman was killed and his
wife fatally injured by the cars near
Ingalls, Ind.
William P. Foss, of Ilaverstraw, N.
Y., won the amateur billiard champion
ship of America in New York.
Miss Gertrude Gothic was shot dead
after a quarrel by her lover, Georg
Sutton, who attempted suicide, at Phil
adelphia.
Three children of John Thompson,
of Owingsville, Ky.. -were killed and
another and the mother fatally in
jured by the explosion of a keg of
powder.
Justice Horace Gray, of the United
States supreme court, is suffering
from a silght attack of paralysis.
Kroonland, the largest vessel thus
far built in the United States, has
been launched at Philadelphia.
Word is said to have been passed
along the line in Washington to drop
the Schley case.
Prince Henry will visit both houses
of congress on his trip to Washing
ton and witness the proceedings.
The Twenty-ninth regiment left
Fort Sheridan, 111., for the Philip
pines. Graduation of the naval academy
class on May 1 will add GO oflicers to
the navy.
Fire at Lafayette, Ind., destroyed
several stores and damaged the Jour
nal office, the aggregate loss being
$230,000.
President's action in setting afoot
prosecution of Northern Securities
company causes commotion in Wash
ington official circles.
rEItSOXAL AM) POLITICAL.
Edward S. Isham, one of the most
prominent lawyers of Chicago, died in
New York city, aged GG years.
Charles L. Tiffany, founder and
head of the jewelry firm of Tiffany
& Co., died at his home in New York,
aged 90 jears.
Albert Bierstadt, the noted land
scape artist, died of heart disease in
New York.
Elias Holliday has been nominated
for congress by the republicans of the
Fifth Indiana district.
James Alexander, aged 103 years,
died in Springfield Mo.
Gen. Edward S. Bragg, of Fond du
Lac, Wis., sole surviving commander
of the old Iron Brigade, celebrated his
seventy-fifth birthday.
James E. Watson, of Rushville,
Ind., has been renominated for con
gress by Sixth district republicans.
Joseph Jefferson celebrated the
seventy-third aniversary of his birth
at Talm Beach, Fla.
FOREIGN.
Additional details of the earthquake
in Transcaucasia show that 2,000 per
sons, mostly women and children, per
ished. Four thousand houses were de-
stro3'ed.
Asumcion Esquivel has been elected
president of Costa Rica.
Ten persons were killed and 65
wounded by troops at Barcelona,
Spain, in an attempt to stop labor
riots.
Col. Allen, chief of the Philippine
constabulary, in a report to the war
department said 15,000 troops were
sufficient to hold the Philippines.
Michael Bolan, an American, has
been compelled to leave Ecuador by
the persecution of government offi
cials.
The German government is making
preparations to maintain a regiment
of troops in Shanghai to support Ger
man interests in China.
The British located De Wet's force
near Reitz, in Orange River colony,
and the Boer command was split tip.
Rev. Newman Hall, D. D., LL D., the
Congregational clergyman and writer, J
died in London, aged 86 3-ears.
The reports of the release af Miss
Stone are fwithout foundation, al
though her liberation is expected mo
mentarily. The largest existing band of in
surgents in Ratargas province, P. I.,
uri cndered to the Americans,
THE SENATE SHOCKED
Tillman and McLaurin Exchange
Blows on Floor of Senate.
Both Parties Held la Contempt, Bat Al
lowed to Apologize Senate May Take
Farther Action Bloodshed Feared.
Washington, Feb. 22. When rou
tine business had been concluded in
the Senate today Mr. Tillman resumed
hi3 speech in opposition to the pend
ing Philippines tariff bill, which be
gan yesterday.
In the course of his speech Mr. Till
man became involved in a lively col
loquy with Mr. Spooner of Wisconsin
regarding the ratification of the Paris
treaty. The South Carolina Senator
referred to Mr. Spooner's comments in
his speech yesterday upon the part
taken by W. J. Bryan during the rati
fication of the treaty. He agreed with
the Wisconsin Senator that the influ
ence of Mr. Bryan was potent, but in
sisted that even his influence was not
sufficient to induce the Senate to ratify
the treaty. After he had done all that
it was possible for him to do, Mr. Till
man asserted, the Republicans yet
lacked votes enough to secure ratifi
cation. "You know," shaking his finger at
the Republican side of the house, "how
those votes necessary were secured."
"How were they secured?" de
manded Mr. Spooner.
"I know, if the Senator does not,"
replied Mr. Tillman. "I have re
ceived information in confidence from
that side of the chamber. I know
from that that improper influences
were used in getting the votes." '
"Name the man," insisted Mr.
Spooner, "upon whom those influences
were brought to bear. It is due the
Senator and the country that he name
him. A man who impeaches another
in confidence is a coward. If the Sen
ator knows of any man who has been
improperly influenced he should name
him."
"I know," asserted Mr. Tillman,
"that the patronage the Federal pa
tronage of a State has been parceled
out to a Senator since the ratification
of the treaty."
"What State?" demanded Mr. Spoon
er. "South Carolina," shouted Mr. Till
man. "Then," said Mr. Spooner, "I leave
you to fight the matter out with your
colleague."
This ended the incident for the time,
but the feeling engendered manifested
itself later in a thrilling and sensa
tional scene.
Soon after Mr. Tillman concluded
his remarks.
Thrilling: Scene.
Scarcely had he resumed his seat
when there was enacted one of the
most sensational scenes ever witnessed
in the history of the United States
Senate.
Pale to the lips and trembling with
the emotion which in vain he endeav
ored to control, Mr. McLaurin of
South Carolina arose and addressed
the Senate, speaking to a question of
personal privilege. Instantly a hush
fell over the Senate and the thronged
galleries. The very atmosphere seemed
charged with excitement. With breath
less interest the auditors, both on the
floor and in the galleries, hung upon
every word uttered by the South
Carolina Senator. Despite the emo
tion under which he was laboring, Mr.
McLaurin seemed to be the calmest
man in the chamber. He spoke with
deliberation and his enunciation was
clear and distinct. Every word he ut
tered seemed to be felt, as well as
heard, in the remotest part of the his
toric old hall.
"Mr. President," he began, "I rise
to a question of personal privilege."
He had voiced less than a dozen words,
yet the excitement by this time had
become intense. All seemed to realize
that a portentous event was about to
happen.
"During my absence," said Mr. Mc
Laurin, "a few moments ago, from
the Senate chamber, in attendance
upon the committee on Indian affairs,
the Senator who has just taken his
seat (Mr. Tillman) said that improper
influences had been used in changing
the vote of somebody on that treaty,
and then went on to say that it ap
plied to the Senator from South Caro
lina, who had been given the patron
age of that State. I think I got the
sense of the controversy."
"I desire to state, Mr. President, I
would not use strong language as I In
tend had I not, soon after the Senate
met, replied to these insinuations and
said that they were untrue.
"I now say," continued Mr. McLau
rin. with distinct emphasis upon every
league, Mr. Tillman, who sat in the
same row, only three seats away, "that
the statement is a willful, malicious
and deliberate lie."
Mr. McLaurin got no further with
his statement.
Mr. Tillman, who was occupying his
regular seat on the main aisle, sprang
with tiger-like ferocity at his col
league. Wild Blows Aimed.
Mr. Teller of Colorado, who was sit
ting at his desk between the two
South Carolina Senators, was swept
aside without ceremony. Indeed, the
infuriated Tillman climbed over him
in his effort to reach McLaurin. With
out the slightest hesitation Mr. Mc
Laurin sprang to meet the attack half
way. Mr. Tillman aimed a wild blow
at his colleague with his right fist.
It landed on Mr. McLaurin's forehead,
just above the left eye, although its
force was partially spent upon Mr.
McLaurin's arm, which he raised in
an effort to parry the blow.
Instantly McLaurin's right arm shot
out, the blow landing upon Tillman's
face, apparently upon the nose. Again (
Tillman struck out frantically with his
left hand. The blow did not land
upon McLaurin. Then followed a wild
scrimmage, both Senators clutching at
each other madly.
They were dragged further apart.
although they still made ineffectual
efforts to get at each other. Finally
they were forced Into tneir seats.
Blooded Tillman's Nose.
Mr. McLaurin, although very -pale,
pf-eircl to bo the calmer of the two. I
M; Tillman was as white as a sheet, j
As he sat dor.n in his seat he drew his ,
handkerchief from his pocket and
wiped LlooJ from his face that seem-
' ingly was flowing slightly from the
! nose. Until that time it had not been
supposed that blood h4 been drawn
In. the encounter.
During the fight Senators all over
the chamber were on their feet. Not
a word, however, was spoken. The
Senate, never in its history, had re
ceived such a shock.
"Mr. President," said Mr. Foraker,
who had moved into the main aisle, "I
move ' that the Senate go into execu
tive session."
Without comment, every Senator la
boring under the emotion which all
endeavored to conceal, the motion was
agreed to, and at 2:52 the doors were
closed.
The proceedings after the doors
were closed covered almost two hours
of time and resulted in the adoption
of a resolution in the form of an order
as follows:
"Ordered that the two Senators from
the State of South Carolina be de
clared in contempt of the Senate on
account of the altercation and per
sonal encounter between them this
day in open session and that the mat
ter be referred to the committee on
privileges and elections, with instruc
tions to report what action shall be
taken by the Senate In regard there
to." After the secret session the Senate,
at 5:15, resumed business in open
session.
"I move that the two Senators from
South Carolina," began Mr. Blackburn,
"be given the floor to make any state
ment in their own way to the Senate
to purge themselves of the contempt."
The motion was carried.
Tillman's Statement.
Amid breathless silence Mr. Tillman
rose to address the Senate. His calm
manner gave no indication cf the tre
mendous scene in which he had been
one of the principal actors a short
time before. He spoke deliberately
and every one of the hundreds of
auditors leaned forward eagerly to
catch his words. Said he:
"Mr. President, I have, always es
teemed it a high honor and privilege
to be a member of this body. I had
never had any legislative experience
when I came here and my previous
service as Governor of South Carolina
for years had unfitted me in a meas
ure to enter this august assembly with
that dignity and regard proper re
gard, I will say for its traditions and
habits and rules that is desirable.
"I have been here seven years. I
have in that time learned to judge
men with a little more catholicity of
spirit than I did when I came here. I
have found a great -many people here
in whose personal integrity and honor
and regard for their obligations as
gentlemen I have Implicit confidence;
but I have seen so much of partisan
ship, I have seen so much of what I
consider slavish submission to party
combination that I confess I have felt
somewhat at a loss how to judge men
who in one aspect appeared to be so
high and clean and honorable and in
another appeared more or less despic
able.. I say this because of the fact
that one of the Senators had seen fit
to allude to some matters that oc
curred in the debate this afternoon.
I now want to say that so far as any
action of mine has caused any Sen
ator here, or the Senate as a body, or
the people of the United States, to feel
that I have been derelict, and that I
have not shown that courtesy and
proper observance of the rules of this
body, that I regret it; I apologize for
it. I was ready to do that two min
utes after I had acted, but under the
provocation which was known to all
of you I could not have acted other
wise than I did. and while I apologize
to the Senate and am sorry that it has
occurred, I have nothing more to
say."
McLaurin "Sorely Tried."
Mr. McLaurin rose at the conclusion
of Mr. Tillman's brief address. He,
too, was calm, but ic was evident that
he was suppressing his emotion by an
effort. He spoke with greater feeling
than had been manifested by his col
league, particularly when he told the
Senate how sorely he had been tried
by the accusations which had been
made against him from time to time.
He said:
"Mr. President, I did not realize
that I was in contempt of the Senate,
nor do I think now if my words are
read in the record that I was in con
tempt of the Senate, but at the same
time, as the Senate has ruled that I
am in contempt of this honorable
body, I beg leave to apologize.
"I desire to say, Mr. President, that
I have been very sorely and severely
tried. I was in attendance on the com
mittee on Indian affairs when I re
ceived a message from a friend in the
Senate that my presence was needed
here.
"The history of the vote on the
Spanish treaty is known to all of you.
There have been statements in news
papers and insinuations that I had
been influenced by improper motives
in connection with my vote on that
treaty. Knowing in my own soul, and
knowing that God in heaven also
knows that it was false, when I was
told that it was centered down to me,
I was so outraged by what I consid
ered a mos-t brutal assault upon my
honor as a man, and especially in view
of the fact that in the beginning of
the session, after the action of .my
party associates, I made a most care
ful and deliberate statement explain
ing all those matters, I did not feel as
a man that I could ever hold my head
up again if I did not resent it in the
place where it was delivered in the
strongest and most forcible terms
that I could employ.
"With that, Mr. President, I am
done, except I have this to say, if there
is any more talk of that kind or any
more " -
As Mr. McLaurin uttered the last
sentences of his address, intimating
that if there was any further effort to
press upon him the accusations which
had been made again him there might
be trouble, there was an evident stir
in the chamber. Several Senators rose
to their feet as if half expecting a re
newed outbreak of trouble.
Mr. Bacon and Mr. Patterson of
Colorado, both t whom were sitting
near Mr. McLaurin. urged him to stop
where he was, Mr. Patterson saying:
"I beg the Senator to refrain."
"I will refrain, then, Mr. President,"
said Mr. McLaurin. As he resumed
his seat he made an effort to com
pose himself as if to dispel any fear
on the part of those about him that
it might have been his intention to
precipitate further disturbances by
any violent comments.
STRUGGLE 0F LIFE.
Words of Inspiration in the Sermon
of Dr. Talmage.'
He Shovrs l"i That We Have Many
Celestial Sympathizers in Oar
Flight vrith the Lioni
of Today.
Copyright, 1S02, by Louis Klopsch N. ".J
Washington,
This discourse of Dr. Talmage is
full of inspiring thoughts for those
who find life a struggle and shows
that we have many celestial sympa
thizers; texts, Hebrews 12:1: "Seeing
we also are compassed about with
so great a cloud of witnesses;" 1 Cor
inthians 15:32: "I .-have fought with
beasts at Ephesus."
Crossing the Alps by the Mont Cen
is pass or through the Mont Cenis
tunnel, you are in a few hours set
down at Yerona, Italy, and in a few
minutes begin examining one of the
grandest ruins of the world, the
Amphitheater. The whole building
sweeps around jrou in a circle. You
stand in the arena where the combat
was once fought or the race run, and
on all sides the seats rise, tier above
tier, until you count 40 elevations,
or galleries, as I shall see fit to call
them, in which 6at the senators, the
kings and the 25,000 excited specta
tors. At the sides of the arena and
under the galleries are the cages
in which the lions and tigers are kept
without food until, frenzied with
hunger and thirst, they are let out
upon some poor victim, who, with his
sword and alone, is condemned to
meet them. I think that Paul him
self once stood in such a place and
that it was not only figuratively, but
literally, that he had "fought with
beasts at Ephesus."
The gala day has come. From all
the world the people are pouring
into Verona. Men, women and chil
dren, orators and senators, great
men and small, thousands upon thou
sands tome, until the first gallery is
full, and the second, the third, the
fourth, the fifth all the way up to
the twentieth, all the way up to the
thirtieth, all the way up to the forti
eth. Every place is filled. Immensity
of audience sweeping the great cir
cle. Silence. The time for the con
test has come. A Roman official
leads forth the victim into the arena.
Let him get his sword with firm grip
into his right hand. The 25,000 sit
breathlessly watching. I hear the
door at the side of the arena creak
open. Out plunges the half-starved
lion, his tongue athirst for blood, and
with a roar that brings all the gal
leries to their feet he rushes against
the sword of the combatant. Do you
know how strong a stroke a man will
strike when his life depends upon the
first thrust of his blade? The wild
beast, lame and bleeding, slinks back
toward the side of the arena; then
rallying his wasted strength he
comes up with fiercer eye and more
terrible roar than ever, only to be
driven back with a fatal wound,
while the combatant comes in with
stroke after stroke until the mon
ster is dead at his feet, and the 25,
C00 clap their hands and utter a
shout that makes the city tremble.
Sometimes the audience came to
see a race; sometimes to see gladi
ators fight each other, until the peo
ple, compassionate for the fallen,
turned their thumbs up as an appeal
that the vanquished be spared, and
sometimes the combat was with wild
beasts.
To one of the Roman amphitheat-
rical audiences of 100,000 people Paul
refers when he saj-sr "We are com
passed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses." The direct reference in
the last passage is made to a race;
but elsewhere having discussed that,
I take now Paul's favorite idea of the
Christian life as a combat.
The fact is that every Christian
man has a lion to fight. Yours is a
bad temper. The gates of the arena
have been opened, and this tiger has
come out to destroy your soul. It has
lacerated you with many a wound.
You have been thrown by it time and
again, but in the strength of God
you have arisen to drive it back. I
verily believe you will conquer. I
think that the temptation is getting
weaker and weaker. You have given
it so many wounds that the prospect
is that it will die, and you shall be
victor, through Christ. Courage,
brother! Do not let the sands of
the arena drink the blood of your
soul!
Your lion is the passion for strong
drink. You may have contended
against it for 20 years; but it is
strong of body and thirsty of tongue.
You have tried to fight it back with
broken bottle or empty wine flask.
Naj-, that is not the weapon. With
one horrible roar he will seize thee
by the throat and rend thee limb
from limb. Take this weapon, sharp
and keen reach up and get it from
God's armory the sword of the
Spirit. With that thou ruayest drive
him back and conquer!
But why specify when every man
and woman has a lion to fight? If
there be one here who has no beset
ting sin, let him speak out, for him
have I offended. If you have not
fought the lion, it is because you
have let the lion eat you up. This
very moment the contest goes on.
The Trajan celebration, where 10,000
gladiators fought and 11,000 wild
beasts were slain, was not so terrific
a struggle as that which at this mo
ment goes on in many a soul. The
combat was for the life of the body;
this is for the life of the soul. That
was with wild beasts from the jun
gle; this is with the roaring lion of
hell.
Men think, when the contend
against an evil habit, that they have
to fight it all alone. No! They stand
in the center of n immense circle of
sympathy. Paul had been reciting
the names of Abel, Enoch, Noah,
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Joseph, Gid
eon and Barak and then says: "Being
compassed about with so great a
cloud of witnesses."
Before I get through I will show you
that you fight in an arena, around
which circle, in galleries above each
other, all the kindling eyes and all the
sympathetic hearts of the ages, and at
every victory gained there comes down
the thundering applause of a great
multitude that no man can number.
"Being compassed about with so great
a cloud of witnesses."
On the first elevation of the ancient
amphitheater, on the day of a cele
bration, sat Tiberius or Augustus or
the reigning king. So in the great
arena of spectators that watch our
struggles and in the first divine gal
lery, as I shall call it, sits our King,
one Jesus. On his head are many
crowns. The Roman emperor got his
place by cold-blooded conquests, but
our King hath come to His place by the
broken hearts healed and the tears
wiped away and the souls redeemed.
The Roman emperor sat, with folded
arms, indifferent as to whether the
swordsman or the lion beat, but our
King's sympathies are all with us
nay, unheard of condescension! I see
Him come down from the gallery into
the arena to help us in the fight, shout
ing until all up and down His voice
is heard: "Fear not ! I will help thee!
I will strengthen thee by the right
hand of My power!"
They gave to the men in the arena
in the olden time food to thicken their
blood, so that it would flow slowly and
that for a longer time the people might
gloat over the scene. But our King
has no pleasure in our wounds, for we
are bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh,
blood of His blood.
Once in the ancient amphitheater a
lion with one paw caught the combat
ant's sword and with his other paw
caught his shield. The man took his
knife from his girdle and slew the
beast. The king, sitting in the gal
lery, said: "That was not fair. The
lion must be slain by a sword." Other
lions were turned out, and the poor
victim fell. You cry: "Shame!
shame!" at such meanness. But the
King in this case is out brother, and
He will see that we have fair play.
He will forbid the rushing out of more
lions than we can meet. He will not
suffer us to be tempted above that
we are able. Thank God! The King
fs in the gallery! His eyes are on us.
His heart is with us. His hand will
deliver us. "Blessed are they who put
their trust in Him."
I look again, and I see the angelic
gallery. There they are the angel
that swung the sword at the gate of
Eden, the same that Ezekiel saw up
holding the throne of God, and from
which I look away, for the splendor is
insufferable. Here are the guardian
angels. That one watched a patriarch;
this one protected a child; that one has
been pulling a soul out of temptation!
All these are messengers, of light!
Those drove the Spanish armada on
the rocks. This turned Sennacherib's
living host into a heap of 185,000
corpses. Those yonder chanted the
Christmas carol over Bethlehem until
the chant awoke the shepherds. These
at creation stood in the balcony of
Heaven and serenaded the new-born
world wrapped in swaddling clothes of
light. And there, holier and mightier
than all, is Michael, the archangel.
To command an earthly host gives dig
nity, but this one is leader of the 20,
000 chariots of God and of the 10,000
times 10,000 angels. I think God gives
command to the archangel, and the
archangel to the seraphim, and the
seraphim to the cherubim, until all
the lower orders of Heaven hear the
command and go forth on the high
behest.
Now, bring on your lions! Who can
fear? All the spectators in the angelic
gallery are our friends. "He shall give
His angels charge over thee, to keep
thee in all thy ways. They shall bear
thee up in their hands lest thou dash
thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt
tread upon the lion and adder; the
young lion and the dragon shalt thou
trample under foot."
Though the arena be crowded with
temptations, we shall, with the angelic
help, strike them down in the name of
our God and leap on their fallen car
casses! O bending throng of bright
angelic faces and swift wings and
lightning foot, I hail you to-day from
the dust and struggle of the arena!
I look again, and I see the gallery
of the martyrs. Who is that? Hugh
Latimer, sure enough! He would not
apologize for the truth he preached,
and so he died, the night before
swinging from the bedpost in perfect
glee at the thought of emancipation.
Who is that army of 6,066? They are
the Theban legion who died for the
faith. Here is a larger host in mag
nificent array, 884,000, who perished
for Christ in the persecutions of
Diocletian. Yonder is a family group,
Felicitas of Rome and her children.
While they were dying for the faith
she stood encouraging them. One
son was whipped to death by thorns;
another was flung from a rock; an
other was beheaded. At last the
mother became a martyr. There
they are together, a family group in
heaven! Yonder is John Bradford,
who said in the fire: "We shall
have a merry supper with the Lord
to-night!" Yonder is Henry Voes,
who exclaimed as he died: "If I had
ten heads, they should all fall off for
Christ!" The great throng of the
martyrs! They had hot lead poured
down their throats; horses were fas
tened to their hands and other horses
to their feet, and thus they were
pulled apart; they had their tongues
pulled out "by red-hot pinchers; they
were sewed up in the skins of ani
mals and then thrown to the dogs;
they were daubed with combustibles
and set on fire! If all the martyrs'
stakes that have been Idndled could
be set at proper distances, they
would make the midnight all the
world over bright as noonday! And
now they sit yonder in the martyrs
gallery. For them the fires of perse
cution have gone out; the swords are
sheathed and the mob hushed. Now
they watch us with an all observing
sympathy. They know all the pain,
all the hardship, all the anguish, all
the injustice, all the privation. They,
cannot keep still. They cry: "Cour
age! The fire will not consume; the
floods cannot drown; the lions can
not devour. Courage down there in
the arena!"
I look again, and I see another gal
lery that of eminent Christians.
What strikes me strangely is the
mixing in companionship of those
who on earth could not agree. There
is Albert Barnes and around him the
presbytery who tried him for hetero
doxy! Yonder are Lyman Beecher
and the church court that denounced
him! Stranger than all, there are
John Calvin and James Arminius!
Who would have thought that thex
would sit so lovingly together?
There are George Whitefield and the
ministers who would not let him
come into their pulpits because they
thought him a fanatic. There are the
sweet singers Toplady, Montgomery,
Charles Wesley, Isaac Watts and Mrs.
Sigourney. If heaven had had no mu
sic before they went up, they would
have started the singing. And there
the band of missionaries David
Abeel, talking of China redeemed;
and John Scudder, of India saved;
and David Brainerd, of the aborigines
evangelized; and Mrs. Adoniram Jud
son, whose prayers for Burma took
heaven by violence! , All these Chris
tians are looking into the arena.
Our struggle is nothing to theirs!
Do we in Christ's cause suffer from
the cold? They walked Greenland's
icy mountains. Do we suffer from
the heat? They sweltered in trop
ics. Do we get fatigued? They faint
ed, with none to care for them but
cannibals. Are we persecuted? They,
were anathematized. And as they
look from their gallery and see us
falter in the presence of the lions
I seem to hear Isaac Watts address
ing us in his old hymn, only a little
changed:
Must you be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease
While others fought to win the prize
Or sailed through bloody seas?
Toplady shouts in his old hymn:
Your harps, ye trembling saints,
Down from the willows take;
Loud to the praise of love divine
Bid every string awake.
While Charles Wesley, the Metho
dist, breaks forth in words a littla
aried:
A charge to keep you have,
A God to glorify,
A never dying soul to save
And fit it for the sky!
I look again, and I see the gallery of
our departed. Many of those in the
other galleries we have heard of, but
these we knew. Oh, how familiar their
faces! They sat at our tables, and we
walked to the house of God in com
pany. Have they forgotten us? Those
f athers and mothers started us on the
roal of life. Are they careless as to
what becomes of us? And those chil
dren do they look with stolid indiffer
ence as to whether we win or lose this
battle of life ? They remember the day
they left us. They remember the agony
of the last farewell. Though years in
Heaven, they know our faces. They
remember our sorrows. They speak
our names. They watch this fight for
Heaven. Nay, I see them rise up and
lean over and wave before us their
recognition and encouragement. That
gallery is not full. They are keeping
places for us. After we have slain the
lion they expect the King to call us,
saying: "Come up higher!" Between
the hot struggles in the arena I wipe
the sweat from my brow and stand on
tiptoe, reaching up my right hand to
clasp theirs in rapturous handshaking,
while their voices come ringing down
from the gallery, crying: "Be thou
faithful unto death, and you shall have
a crown!"
But here I pause, overwhelmed with
the majesty and the joy of the scene!
Gallery of the King! Gallery of an
gels! Gallery of prophets and apos
tles! Gallery of martyrs! Gallery of
saints! Gallery of friends and kindred!
O majestic circles of light and love!
Throngs, throngs, throngs! How shall
we stand the gaze of the universe?
Myriads of eyes beaming on us! Myri
ads of hearts beating in sympathy for
us! How shall we ever dare to sin
again? How shall we ever become dis
couraged again? How shall we ever
feel lonely again? With God for us and
angels for us and prophets and apos
tles for us and the great souls of the
ages for us and our glorified kindred
for us shall we give up the fight and
die? No, Son of God, who didst die to
save us! No, ye angels, whose wings
are spread forth to shelter us! No, ye
prophets and apostles, whose warn
ings startle us! No, ye loved ones,
whose arms are outstretched to receive .
us! No; we will never surrender!
Sure I must fight If I would reign.
Be faithful to my Lord.
And bear the cross, endure the pain,
Supported by thy word.
Thy saints in all this glorious war
Shall conquer though they die;
They see the triumph from afar
And seize it with their eye.
When that illustrious day shall rise
And all thine armies shine
In robes of victory through the skies.
The glory shall be thine.
My hearers, shall we die in the arena
or rise to join our friends in the gal
lery? Through Christ we may come
off more than conquerors. A soldier
dying in the hospital rose up in bed the
last moment and cried: "Here, here!"
His attendants put him back on his pil
low and asked him why he shouted
"Here!" "Oh, I heard the roll call of
Heaven, and I was only answering to
my name!" I wonder whether after
this battle of this life is over -our
names will be called in the muster roll
of the pardoned and glorified and, with
the joy of Heaven breaking upon our
ouls, shall cry: "Here, here!"
i
k
' L' I.
il
li
s
I
H